Why has it become the norm for people to instinctively switch from a pre dinner beer to a glass of wine at the table? We all do it, as soon we leave the bar to enter the dining room, we quite naturally start to think about wine. It’s got me thinking – is it really fair?
I really believe beer can be paired with food just as well (if not better) than wine can, but it just doesn’t seem to actually be done on any where near the same scale, especially when it comes to more formal occasions. Who has ever rejected the sommelier’s wine recommendation in a fancy restaurant in favour of a bottle of pale ale or craft lager? Very few, I imagine. In fact, would the restaurant even have them
I do think it’s becoming more practised these days though. There’s lots of books being published on the subject with proper thinking involved. Restaurants and bars are marketing themselves on offering specialist bottled beer to accompany their creative food and promotions from various organisations – it all helps the cause.
Matching beer and food relies on much the same principles as with wine, they should interact with one another, compliment and contrast whilst not being overpowering. For example a clear, crisp blonde would pair well with a light chicken salad and I would drink an American IPA with a spicy curry, whereas a bottle of stout would trounce more delicate food. These are pretty simple principles really, most people are aware of them, but (as with me) anybody who refuses to drink a certain ale just because it’s not recommended alongside the food is clearly a borderline ‘snob’. I generally stick to the recommendation but believe we should drink the beer we fancy at the time… unsurprisingly it often enhances the food experience superbly.
JB Beer 